History of Terrorism

Catalog description

This lecture course examines approaches to the study of terrorism, especially in the global north. It will cover 1) the history of terrorism as it developed over the course of the modern era (in the process distinguishing terrorism from other forms of modern political violence, e.g. partisan warfare, state terror, etc.) and 2) the ways terrorism has been perceived, presented, and remembered by contemporaries and subsequent generations. Questions, therefore, will include the following: How has terrorism been approached by political theory, history, literature, etc.? How have these approaches constructed terrorism as an object of scientific investigation? How were terrorists perceived and represented by their contemporaries (in the press, literature, the arts)? How did terrorists represent themselves (in political pamphlets, autobiographies, fiction)? Readings will include archival materials, manifestos, memoirs, and novels, as well as classic pieces of political writing (e.g. Lenin, Schmitt, Arendt). (HIST-HEU)